Hello, Mike and the New Canaan community,

Surely, someone scanning the names at the bottom of this letter will think, “Oh lord, those overly vocal leftist pinko monsters,” and someone else will think, “the Aults aren’t liberal enough for me to take seriously.” This deepened sense of division is a shame, but it’s how most human beings read anything in print these days. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and what follows is ours.

We’ve taken a very deliberate step back from hyperpartisan politics in town over the past three years because it’s more joyous and productive to focus on what unites us than what divides us. We worked shoulder-to-shoulder with people of every political stripe to get our town’s beautiful new library and green built. We will side with anyone, be they Republican, Democrat, or Flamenco-dancing space octopus, who can keep New Canaan from the predatory clutches of developers trying to abuse the 8-30g statute and build five-story monuments to architectural mediocrity. Laura takes time every month to report on something interesting in town for this publication. None of this is politically motivated; it’s about serving the common good, and it comes from an earnest love for New Canaan’s character.

Because we care about the character of this town, we have a few recommendations to make. 

We believe that Amy Murphy Carroll is the most qualified candidate ever to raise her hand for New Canaan’s top job. Much has been made of her exceptional schooling, her three-decade career in municipal finance, years of service to the Board of Finance, and multidisciplinary volunteer engagement. We don’t need to repeat her resume again; her bona fides are spectacular. It’s her spirit that we find refreshing; she’s not a party line operator, and she’s not afraid to do the harder thing and reach across the aisle and work with people from (gasp!) different parties to achieve mutually great outcomes. We haven’t seen enough equanimity and grace from New Canaan’s highest office recently. When we heard that our current First Selectman had orchestrated the departure of long-serving Democrats from town committees, we were repulsed but not surprised. Viciousness and tribalism have seeped into every corner of American life from the craven edges of the national political scene. Not new news, and also not how we want to spend our lives. We’ll be voting for Amy, not because we’re automatically doing whatever Democrats do (we’re both unaffiliated voters) but because she’s awesome. 

Speaking of national politics that have no business influencing New Canaan’s priorities, we’re going to point out the elephant in the room as decorously as possible: certain newer electees to the Board of Education, as well as certain current candidates, seem to be following the extremist Moms for Liberty playbook known on the national stage for trying to influence school curricula to be as regressive as possible.

Ten years ago, our Board of Education was a fairly harmonious group, drama-free and undisturbed by hardline influence. Now, it’s not. Unpack the rhetoric coming from the right-wing faction a bit, and you can spot alarming patterns.

‘Distraction-free learning’ means the notable absence of social and emotional learning, a willful deletion of the soft skills that better prepare children for the ethos of higher education and the corporate environments they hope to inhabit one day. 

When a candidate says that she wants the school curriculum to reflect ‘parents’ values,’ you’d better believe that the woman with a Let’s Go Brandon sticker on her car does not mean all parents. She means those parents who share her beliefs about faith, partisan politics, and global health crisis responses.

And finally, the most puzzling priority: ‘Protect our children!’ From what? Given their stated party affiliation, it’s unlikely they mean gun violence, although it is the country’s number one cause of death for people under the age of 18. There’s a boogeyman implied here, some nonexistent horror that will befall New Canaan’s youth if, gasp, educators inform them that trans people exist. 

We may be of a waning breed, but we respect people who know more about their fields than we do. If a pilot says to fasten our seat belts, we fasten them. If a doctor says to do something, we do it. If a professional educator with a Ph.D. says, “this is the way to run a classroom in 2023”, we will stand behind them. There is no far-right (or far-left, frankly) agenda that naturally fits New Canaan’s needs, and we owe our community better than fringe philosophies and hyperpartisan dogwhistle rhetoric. 

As such, we’re happy to endorse Lauren Connolly Nussbaum, Josh Kaye, and Brendan Hayes for the Board of Ed. They’ve raised their hands for a consequential, demanding job, not out of adherence to a regressive agenda, but out of genuine care and concern for the future of New Canaan’s stellar public education. 

“But you don’t have children!” someone will surely point out. We don’t, and you’re welcome for the past ten years of our property taxes being used to educate yours. If our choice to set down roots here doesn’t give us a vested interest in our town’s character, then our mandatory annual donation, paid with love, certainly does. 

We’ll be splitting our tickets this year, and voting for a few worthy Republican candidates as well as the aforementioned individuals. Honestly, government SHOULD be a conversation that squarely represents the philosophies of its constituents. We can respect and appreciate contributions from both sides. But it’s only fair to demand that honest campaigning prevail. 

We’re sure this letter has provoked some Olympic-level eye-rolls, and we’ll be on the lookout for pitchforks on our lawn for having voiced our opinions. We don’t expect everyone (or anyone, frankly) to agree with our exact positions, but after a lot of homework and a hard look at what motivates our voting, we’re proud to support people who are, hands-down, the better choices for New Canaan’s character.